It's not often that one gets to hear "war stories," directly from the men who were there. Many times the memories are too painful to re-live, or they really don't want to draw attention to themselves, for lots of reasons.

In September, 2015 I traveled to Hendersonville, North Carolina to attend a local chapter meeting of the 8th Air Force Historical Society. While there I made a presentation on my "bomber jacket" project, photographed several jackets, and interviewed six WWII 8th Air Force veterans.

Four of their stories are presented here, in their own words. They speak for themselves...

Bob Grosso was a B-24 Navigator...

Dudley Brown was a Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner on a B-17 bomber...